Jerry Mander’s Political Corner – RIP The Constitution Edition

“Our Constitutional system, our Constitutional process is dead,” nationally syndicated radio host Mark Levin said while discussing the U.S. Supreme Court’s King v. Burwell decision. The court ruled 6-3 that insurance exchanges established by the federal government could issue subsidies despite the plain language of the Affordable Care Act that only exchanges “established by the state” have such authority.

“Congress cannot delegate parts of the Constitution to other parts of the government, nor can other parts of the government seize those parts that it may want, whether it likes it or not. And today, all three branches of the federal government legislate: Congress, the executive, and the courts,” Levin said on his Thursday broadcast.

Here is the full transcript of what Levin said:

“Let’s talk about reality.There was no ambiguity — no ambiguity in this statute with respect to these four words. And that’s the irony.

“Everybody says, ‘It’s only four words, it’s only four words.’ Right. So it’s elemental. So it’s easy to understand. Even a Supreme Court justice should have enough ability, should have enough reading comprehension prowess to understand those four words have meaning.

“Like four words in the Constitution, like four words in your mortgage, like four words in your loans, those four words had meaning. And they knew it. And Roberts knew it. But it didn’t matter.

“He’s the chief justice on the new Roberts Court, and they’re gonna blaze a new trail–a trail of judicial activism like we’ve never seen before — because Obamacare is not about Obamacare. Obamacare is not about health care. It’s about individual liberty. It’s about separation of powers. It is crucial to the survivability of a republic.

“There was no ambiguity in the language — none, whatsoever. There was no ambiguity in the Congressional intent — none, whatsoever. There is no ambiguity in the Constitution respecting separation of powers — none, whatsoever. And there’s no ambiguity about which federal branch is to legislate.

“Congress did not and Congress cannot delegate its Article 1 powers to make laws to either the president or the Supreme Court, or anyone and anything else, including the vast bureaucracy, because to do that disenfranchises ‘we the people.’ It means our votes don’t matter.

“Congress cannot delegate parts of the Constitution to other parts of the government, nor can other parts of the government seize those parts that it may want, whether it likes it or not. And today, all three branches of the federal government legislate: Congress, the executive, and the courts…

“If you think that the courts are gonna protect us from centralized government, you’re wrong — the courts are centralized government. The Supreme Court has made this all possible. Since 1937, it has delivered big government, one gob at a time….The courts are not our salvation, Congress is not our salvation, the presidency’s not our salvation. We are our salvation.

“Congress is Republican. They’re all out there saying, ‘Well, we’re not gonna allow this. No, no we’re still gonna fight it. We’re gonna defeat it and replace it.’ No they’re not. They surrendered the power of the purse to this president. They’re not gonna change anything.

“I had a pretty stern discussion with a member of Congress who called me this afternoon, confidentially, so I won’t give up the person’s name: ‘What are we gonna do, shut down the government? Is that what you want? Then, it costs us money…’

“I said, ‘What are you talking about? You people have surrendered the power of the purse. We’ve shut down the government twenty times before. We shut it down about a half a times under Ronald Reagan. I don’t remember all the complaining back then.

“Some things are more important than others. Our Constitutional system, our Constitutional process is dead, and they won’t stand up for it. They’re surrendering power.

“This whole debate over this trade crap was never about free trade. It was about how much more power are we gonna give an out-of-control president. Apparently, every damn bit of power he wants.

“And he’s up there gloating today. He’s lying through his teeth about the success of Obamacare. The American people hate Obamacare. Every opportunity they have, they express it — surveys, polls, elections.

“This is why they passed it the way they did, Justice Roberts, you fraud, you phony. I know you and I know what you’re doing.

“I’m tired of all these public officials playing for their legacy — playing for Hollywood, playing for the editorial pages of The Washington Post and The New York Times. I’m sick and tired of it.

“The fact of the matter is this law was unconstitutional from day one. But in steps John Roberts, from on high — Zeus with a lightning bolt. And he decides a penalty is a tax.

“Obama says it’s not a tax. The Democrats say it’s not a tax. The legislative history says it’s not a tax. He decides it’s a tax, he pulls it out of his nose. There we are — Obamacare.”

• • • •

We’ve got to become activists in taking our country back. Get Mark Levin’s The Liberty Amendments as your road map of how it can be done. Time is of the essence. We are rapidly losing our country.

“Mark R. Levin has made the case, in numerous bestselling books that the principles undergirding our society and governmental system are unraveling. In The Liberty Amendments, he turns to the founding fathers and the constitution itself for guidance in restoring the American republic.

The delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention and the delegates to each state’s ratification convention foresaw a time when the Federal government might breach the Constitution’s limits and begin oppressing the people. Agencies such as the IRS and EPA and programs such as Obamacare demonstrate that the Framers’ fear was prescient. Therefore, the Framers provided two methods for amending the Constitution. The second was intended for our current circumstances—empowering the states to bypass Congress and call a convention for the purpose of amending the Constitution. Levin argues that we, the people, can avoid a perilous outcome by seeking recourse, using the method called for in the Constitution itself.

The Framers adopted ten constitutional amendments, called the Bill of Rights, that would preserve individual rights and state authority. Levin lays forth eleven specific prescriptions for restoring our founding principles, ones that are consistent with the Framers’ design. His proposals—such as term limits for members of Congress and Supreme Court justices and limits on federal taxing and spending—are pure common sense, ideas shared by many. They draw on the wisdom of the Founding Fathers—including James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and numerous lesser-known but crucially important men—in their content and in the method for applying them to the current state of the nation.

Now is the time for the American people to take the first step toward reclaiming what belongs to them. The task is daunting, but it is imperative if we are to be truly free.”

Professor Hayward’s title this week is a play on John Kennedy Toole’s fabulous bookof the same name. If you haven’t read this book, get it! While making a number of points, it makes the points with humor. It is the funniest book I’ve ever read in my life.

“A Confederacy of Dunces is an American comic masterpiece. John Kennedy Toole’s hero, one Ignatius J. Reilly, is “huge, obese, fractious, fastidious, a latter-day Gargantua, a Don Quixote of the French Quarter. His story bursts with wholly original characters, denizens of New Orleans’ lower depths, incredibly true-to-life dialogue, and the zaniest series of high and low comic adventures” “

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About the author

I am "56PackardMan" a.k.a. «Louis la Vache».
My favorite cars are Packards - and my favorite Packards are the '56 models. This blog is mostly about cars and frequently those cars will be Packards - or my other auto passion, Studebaker, particularly the '53-'54 Commander Starliners. "Jerry Mander" will post rants about our corrupt politicians of BOTH parties each week and «Louis» invites you to visit each Friday for "The Friday Funnies."

One Comment

this is a sick situation, BUT it is here. No one is going to bother Obama care. WE could have save a lot of trouble by just raising the Medicade level to $60,000 and forgot the rest. This Supreme court is lost. All we really need to ensure it is one more democratic appointment, or a great GOP appt like the Supreme Head Roberts…